Victims No More: Daddy Dearest (Phoenix Club: No More Victims - Volume 2)

Chapter 15

When Axel called back, Clint scribbled down the location of his phone.

"Be careful," Axel cautioned. "You don't know what you're walking into."

"We'll be careful," Clint assured him. He said a quick goodbye and headed for the mouth of the alley. "They're only three blocks away."

The other men followed. They took both vehicles and parked on a side street one block from their destination then went the rest of the way on foot.

When they arrived at an apartment building, Matteo asked, "Do you know which apartment they're in?"

Clint shook his head. "It only gave the address of the building." It wasn't a large building, only two floors, but finding the right apartment could be a chore. Rather than entering the building through the front, he walked around the corner and into the dead-end alley that ran alongside the structure. "If the boy saw her, it was from outside." He glanced at the dumpster. "Homeless... foraging for food..." he mumbled. "I'm betting he saw her from this alley." He turned his attention to the apartment building and the rusted metal fire escape scaling the side. "There. He saw her through one of the windows on this side of the building."

"That narrows it down some," Rodriguez murmured.

Cochise looked around. "So, where is the kid? He should be here. He wouldn't have gone inside."

"No, he wouldn't." Clint frowned, his concern for the boy climbing a notch.

"Maybe he took off," Matteo said. "If someone saw him... like the girl's father."

"Why wouldn't he just come back to us, then?" Rodriguez posed.

Clint's gut warned of foul play. If that was the case, then they had two kids to find. "We'll check the fire escape and the apartments facing this side."

The cowboy started up the metal steps first, followed by Matteo. Cochise and Rodriguez waited on the ground, keeping watch.

Clint paused at each window on the way up. Most of them looked into bedrooms. He halted at one of the windows on the second floor of the building. "This is the one," he told Matteo with confidence.

"How do you know?"

"It's the only one with bars." He indicated the other windows. "Someone installed these for their own purposes."

"This is a bad neighborhood," Matteo pointed out. "It could be they did it to feel safe."

"Could be," Clint muttered. "Or it could be they didn't want someone to escape."

"Makes sense, too."

Clint leaned close and peered through the bars. The room was dark, he couldn't see a fucking thing. He chanced using a small flashlight and shone the light through the window. The room was empty, though the bed looked slept in. He listened for sounds and heard nothing. The beam of light traveled around the room and came to rest on a piece of clothing on the floor. Clint squinted, a girl's blouse. Like the one Franny had been wearing when she was taken.

His unease deepened as he stepped back.

"I don't think anyone is there." He rubbed his mouth. "But I think Franny has been here."

"You saw something?"

"Her shirt. The one Maddy said she was wearing. It fits the description."

"What do we do?"

"Find the front door and let ourselves in."

The two men headed back down the steps.

"If the boy has your phone, but he isn't here..." Matteo said. "... why is the app saying the phone is here? Do you think he might be locked up somewhere inside the apartment? Maybe with the girl?"